Commentary, analysis, and whatever else I feel like writing about online auctions, eBay, selling online, and going to yard and estate sales.

Posts categorized "online auctions"

November 06, 2010

Are you wondering if it makes economic sense to fulfill that item yourself, or to send it in to amazon and have them pack and ship it to your customer?

Now amazon has a new calculator tool that can help you make that decision. Here's part of an email I received about it:

"Check out the cost benefits of using Fulfillment by Amazon.

In October we launched the FBA Revenue Calculator to give you better insight into what it costs for you to use FBA on a per item level. With this tool you can do a side-by-side comparison of fulfilling orders yourself and fulfilling with Amazon:

Here's what it looks like. I tried it with a book I plan to sell, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson (incidentally, all his books are selling very well from amazon now, used ones included):

In it, I put in a sample price of $6.25 for the paperback. With amazon fulfillment, you net $3.04, and with selling it yourself in this scenario, you make $3.96. This is because of amazon's .50 pack fee, .40 for weight handling, and .02 for 30 days of storage.

Those fees aren't bad, and if you send in a lot of items to FBA, they will most likely sell a lot more quickly than your own listings, because they will appear on top of all the listings, and also buyers tend to trust them more. So you may make more money overall, even with the FBA fees.

So you have to weigh the worth of that over the small extra cost. (With a heavier book, this is going to cost more). I send amazon a mix of some of my bulky, more expensive books that I don't have space for, and hot items like video games I want to sell quickly and I know the FBA tag will help.

I'll have a better handle on how the numbers crunch out as more time goes by. As for now, I'm happy with my fba listings.

From a reader review: "Arguably the best of Nick At Night. This series was written extremely well, and it shows in the longevity, sheer success and growing interest people have in the sets....In fact, AYAOTD is so good, one could call it a golden stepchild of shows like Twilight Zone..."]

David Garrett: Live In Berlin

[ I had never heard of this guy, but apparently the rest of the world is crazy about him. From a reader review: "In the US, we are latecomers to his talent. You can surf the net and read the news from across the world and David Garrett makes headlines. I don't know that anyone else could have me put on the "Summer" (Vivaldi) track and turn the volume way up. Just about everyone has heard "Dueling Banjos" (the Deliverance soundtrack), but they have never heard it like this..."]

In Europe and Asia, this guy fills stadiums because his sound is powerful, beautiful, and enchanting."

GOOD EATS 12-Pack Alton Brown DVD's Food Networ...

ALTON BROWN GOOD EATS 18 DVD SET 54 EPISODES!!!

[Food Network star Alton Brown; "

It's cooking meets chemistry meets science class meets recess. Mix in his quirky personality and random jabs at pop culture and you have great TV. Or as Alton says 'Good Eats!"]

Hey Arnold! Season 3 (6 Disc Set)

[Nickelodeon toon from the 90s. Per one reviewer, "Here's the 3rd Season we've been waiting for. It seems this third volume is being released after four and five because it contains near twice as many episodes as seasons four and five."]

Blackzillian Booties

[Um...this is kinda what you'd expect it to be.]

Ladies and Gentlemen... the Rolling Stones

THIS AIN'T GLEE XXX (Bluray DVD)

3 IDIOTS DVD [2 DISC SET] BOOK and STICKER

[From what I can deduce this is an Indian comedy spoofing the Indian education system...looks like it would be funny if I could understand it].

Live From Amsterdam [Blu-ray]

NOVA: Secret of the Wild Child

["This is perhaps one of the most important stories in the field of Child Development. Not only does it illustrate a story of unimaginable child abuse and provide unparalleled insight into the effects of social isoloation on the psychological and mental development of humans, but it also reveals the darker side of science -- a part so driven by notoriety and money that it ends up abusing Genie over and over. "]

The Expert Guide to Oral Sex, Part 1: Cunnilingus

Are You Afraid of The Dark? seasons 1/2/3/4/5/6...

2 Million Minutes: A Documentary Calculating th...

["Two Million Minutes - an intriguing look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China, India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future."]

[Twilight-esque saga: "...A hunger that began on the frontier in the 19th century, where Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald search for sanctuary from the shocking evil at the gate and experience the first bite."]

Restorative Yoga

As Is Magazine Presents: The BMF

[Story of a "Black Mafia"]

Twilight's Last Gleaming

VIPER GTS (DVD MOVIE)

Walt Disney Classic Cartoon Favorites Gift Set:...

Rachel and the Stranger

[A vintage movie based on "antiquated mores": "In the olden days, there were white slaves as well as black. Rachel And The Stranger may be the only movie to explore that topic, though lightly...William Holden (Bridge on the River Kwai) is a widower trying to raise his young son...at a cabin in the wilderness. On the advice of the parson in a nearby town, he marrys a bond slave played by Loretta Young (The Bishop's Wife), buying her out of servitude."]

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin: Come Dream With...

This Ain't Dancing with the Stars XXX (Bluray) DVD

Young and Dangerous the Complete DVD Movie Box Set

My First Porn 1 - Digital Playground

This Ain't Star Trek XXX [Blu-ray]

Unico: Unico in the Island of Magic

CHALENE JOHNSON'S DVD WORKOUT: TURBO JAM CARDIO...

Unico: The Fantastic Adventures of Unico

PoleCats I: Beginning Pole Dancing

CLINTON ANDERSON- Downunder Horsemanship- Gaini...

The Crash Pad

Cuba: An African Odyssey

Shriek Show Presents: Psycho Killers Triple Fea...

Miyazaki 13 Pack (Castle in the Sky/Kiki's Deli...

Miyazaki 6 Pack (Castle in the Sky/Kiki's Deliv...

Are You Afraid of The Dark? Season 5

Inuyasha TV Series Collection (1-167 + Movies)

Naruto Movie 5 Shippuden : Bonds

ICE PALACE

James - Getting Away with It... Live

[Another one I hadn't heard of. This is an English band called "too damn good for the average, American record-buyer" by one amazon reviewer. "Musically and lyrically, they are, without a doubt, one of the finest bands of the 90's (though they emerged in the 80's, they really hit their stride in the early 90's)."

"This concert, in their hometown of Manchester, was taped on the last night of their final tour with lead-singer, Tim Booth. What you will see here is a tremendously talented group of musicians performing highlights from an extremely impressive catalog of songs."]

Thanks to all of you with your patience in waiting for this issue. I've heard personally from several of you asking about me and my mom (who has advanced Parkinson's and dementia), and I really appreciate it. My mom is hanging in there, and though much of her memory is gone, she still has moments of lucidity. The other day we were looking at one of her teenage scrapbooks and I was reading the captions out loud...she pointed to a man in a photo and said "he was our driver in Greece." (Mom was a foreign service "brat"). Amazing which details the mind retains.

Moving a Life

We've also had to deal as a family with a lifetime accumulation of stuff that's 3000 miles away, in California. After years of going to estate sales, and some clearout sales, I used to marvel at the stuff that some people left behind in houses. Now I see, sometimes it just isn't physically possible to be there to do the job yourself, or to move all the stuff you'd like, even if you move some of it. And sometimes there are other extenuating circumstances, such as if the house was shared by other people.

So for months now I've been coordinating moving items out of her home in California, consigning what can be sold, and moving the rest.

And with my Mom living here, I've had less free time than ever. But along with taking in many family scrapbooks, books and other heirlooms, I've just had to free up other space in the house and the bookshelves.

Among other things, that prompted me to use Amazon.com's "Fulfillment by Amazon," or FBA, program, to get some of my own book inventory out of the house. The nice thing is, books fulfilled by amazon tend to sell faster than merchant-fulfilled ones, and when something sells, I don't have to deal with it.

I must say, it's a nice feeling to be on vacation, as I was in August, to see that I've sold a book, and that someone else is taking care of the packing and shipping.

In other news, as rates for Topica go up, I am considering moving this newsletter to another email newsletter program -- most likely aweber. To that end, if you get a request to re-subscribe to the new mail server, I hope you will take a moment to do so, so we don't lose you as a subscriber.

It's not likely I will make the transition right away..more likely it will be a move that will take place over two or more upcoming issues, so you should get reminders from me to move to the new mailing list. And of course the newsletter will still be posted to the web site. But one of the things I am hoping as a result is it will make it easier for me to put out more issues which need less maintenance and can be cranked out more quickly.

The Latest on Yard Salers Message Boards

Another company that is charging more (or in their case, starting to charge after being free), is the message board site Ning. Although I really liked Ning's tools, I am now focusing our messaging on the Yard Salers Facebook group.

So if you were on Yard Salers Ning, stop by the Facebook group and introduce yourself. I'd like to get everyone's stories on the "This Week's Finds" topic, which you can find on the main Yard Salers facebook group site at Yard Salers Facebook Group.

Faithful reader and friend Susan has posted some of her great discoveries. Check out her eBay profile at http://myworld.ebay.com/susanc7818.

UPDATE on Ning since I first started this issue: I have until Monday to decide whether to buy a plan. Since I'd need to accommodate 2000+ members who are already there, I'd have to buy a plan for @ $50/month. I may try this option to keep the forum there alive if I can sell ads on it. Will definitely keep you all posted. If you've used the Yard Salers Ning forum and want to see it keep going (or not), please email me and let me know!

After those housekeeping notes, I just have a couple of questions for you before we get to the meat of the issue.

- Have you changed your online selling srategies or sites where you sell from in the wake of the recession and eBay's changes? If so, would love to hear about them. Email me at juliawilk@aol.com.

- What topic would you like to see me cover for a future eBay-related ebook? A specific price guide? Packing guide? Specific types of collectibles? Etc.

Thanks for reading!

Now let's get to it.

****** Follow me on Twitter:juliawww on Twitter**********************************************Does Your eBay Store Need a Facelift? Dzine-hub (at dzine-hub.com) is offering Yard Salers and Bidbits.net readers a 5% off the store design - use coupon code bidbits. ***********************************************You can make good money selling dishes, pottery, and other dinnerware and servingware on eBay. But you need to know what brands and patterns are best to buy, and at what price point to buy.

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***********************************************Big Bucks Flips 2.0: The half price version of Big Bucks Flips for Yard Salers subscribers is here: Click here to order.Yard Salers' Readers best flips, and accompanying tips and rules of thumb, all in one convenient package. Plus, now you can make money reselling the book! To find out how to resell it for 50% of each sale, go here.

I recently had to cry "uncle" on many of the beloved old yearbooks I have sold regularly on eBay for the past several years. While they didn't sell frequently, they did sell eventually, in general, and they usually gave people some very happy memories I enjoyed hearing about.

There was the 80something lady who was a sponsor of a fraternity at Virginia Tech, meaning she had a large photo and dedication on a page, whose daughter bought it for her upcoming birthday. It really put a smile on her face.

There was the guy who was thinking about his beauty queen former girlfriend at a DC college. I still get notes of gratitude from him, and he even sent me a couple free samples of the product he sells.

And many other stories. But lately the yearbooks were just not moving, and they started taking over too much space in the house. (OK, so my son wanted his bookshelves back. As if!) ;)

This is one thing that got me moving some stuff off eBay and onto amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon, aka FBA, program.

What are the advantages of FBA?

- Your stuff (not just books, but CDs, DVD's, games, etc.) sells more quickly. - You get the stuff out of your house - You don't have to pack and ship individual items when they sell. Amazon ships them for you, and you get a nice little email telling you that you just made some money.- You can have the funds deposited directly into your bank account.- You can sell stuff while you're on vacation; you don't have to pause your inventory.

While you are not packing and shipping each individual item, you do need to pack many books, etc. in bulk in one box and affix little labels to each. But the FBA web site guides you through the process and it's quite easy,

You can set up multiple boxes/shipments at one time and only ship them when they're ready to roll. Amazon has partnered with UPS to offer deeply discounted shipping rates for your boxes of stuff. I have simply been using media mail for the most part, though. (Any of you who use FBA and UPS, I would love to hear about your experiences, especially whether they come to your door to pick up a single box or not).

Because you are sending books to amazon, you can sell more items than you have been able to fit in your house (unless you have a huge place, like Harry Rinker, and live in an old schoolhouse).

Amazon does charge a storage fee, however. So I am going to have to keep an eye on my stuff and see how it does. They charge: for January through September - $.45/cubic foot per month; October through December- $.60/cubic foot per month.

But they do keep you informed of what's selling well. I recently got an email from someone at amazon telling sellers what was selling really well and they needed more of. It included:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia The Great Gatsby The Help The Secret Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) Night (Oprah's Book Club) The Glass Castle: A Memoir Biology with Mastering Biology (8th Edition) The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3) Water for Elephants: A Novel The Kite Runner The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

Well, you get the idea. The spreadsheet goes on and on. Many of those books don't sell for big bucks, but if you find a lot of them in pristine condition, it adds up. And the textbooks (they must be recent) and reference books can be golden.

So consider giving FBA a shot. I'd love to hear your experiences if you do.

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This is the story of a little mouse. This little mouse was sitting on a table at a yard sale with all kinds of nick knacks!

When I pulled up to the yard sale, I start looking immediately to see what direction I am going in when I get out of my truck. This particular table drew me, as I was walking towards it -- I saw the most amazing little mouse.

I walked straight to him and picked him up without even looking around me. I placed him in my pocket, because I had not looked around yet. I ended up buying over $100.00 in items - Toy Story Dolls in original boxes, etc.

Anyway, I am very, very honest and as he was adding up my total, I said "Oh, I have this little mouse." The man said oh I'll throw that in, I said no, let me pay for it. He said "Is .50 okay?" I said no problem.

To shorten this story of the little mouse, I bought him home and washed him, holding my breath while I did it, hoping that there wasn't any damage.

Whew - No Damage. Because I knew what I had, I listed him in what was my store for $450.00. I knew it was one of those items that I needed just the right buyer for. I did not mind waiting. I was offered $375.00 and the "Little Mouse" went to England. Where he is living happily ever after.

PS. This manufacturer is rare to find here, this mouse is retired - the current mouse that they have is $1,200.00.

Whew! Oh my goodness..what an exquisite little mouse! And I am also amazed because I had not heard of Nymphenburg before..it sounds a lot like Meissen porcelain, after I noodled around and looked at their web site.

According to wikipedia: "the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory (in German: Porzellanmanufaktur Nymphenburg), manufacturer of Nymphenburg porcelain, is situated in the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, capital of Bavaria, and since the mid-eighteenth century has been manufacturing porcelain of high artistic value."

After looking at more completed items listings for Nymphenburg, it reinforced my thought that the company produces items similar to Meissen: finely sculpted figurines and other china such as vases and dinnerware.

Readers: How can you tell if something is Nymphenburg while you are out and about? Turn it over and look for the mark (or even on the bottom side as in the case of Carolyn's mouse): the mark over the years has various combinations of a crown and a shield. Check this web page to see different iterations of it: http://www.antique-china-porcelain-collectibles.com/nymphenburg-marks-china-porcelain-markings.htm

Back to Carolyn. That one is definitely in the running for the next contest! You are doing super well..I think I'm going to troll your store to get some ideas!

I may put that entry in my bidbits blog too, if u don't mind. :)

Thanks again for reading, and entering the contests!

Julia

~~~

Rare Perfume Bottle

Hi Julia, Have I got a flip for you! Read on...

I went to a small country auction house with my dad and my uncle one evening. There were not many items up for auction and I wasn't very hopeful. I did see a box lid with a few small trinkets inside and it had a perfume bottle that looked old. I bought the box lid for $2.00.

After I got home and looked it up, I kept finding the perfume company listed as desirable but could find the actual bottle anywhere. I started it at $9.99. It jumped to $49.00 the first night. I received a few emails from perfume bottle collectors telling me it was rare and to not accept any offers from buyers. It was selling for about $2,000 and jumped up another $600.00 the last 6 seconds! Very exciting to watch!

We heard from our beloved Audrey, in Lake Havasu, home of the London Bridge (really!). This time she comes at us with one that really took me back.

Do you remember David Cassisy, Bobby Vinton, and Bobby Sherman? Or any combination thereof? I used to be both a David Cassidy and a Bobby Sherman fan. (It helped that I went by "Julie" back then and Bobby Sherman's big song was "Julie, Julie, Julie Do You Love Me?").

She also shares with us a selling strategy you probably haven't thought of.

~~~

Hi Julia,

Forgot to tell you something that has been working for me. Don't know why, but it's happening to often to just be a coincidence.

I have been revising about 10 my eBay store auctions a day (catching mistakes, adding things that didn't get added when they were listed, etc, etc).

And more than once or twice, a few days after revising the item, it sells, and quite often at the full price. I've also been adjusting my selling prices upwards - not a lot, just $.50 cents or so - and they have been selling at the new prices.

It must have something to do with the way eBay is now showing ALL items listed, not just auctions, but sure don't know what that has to do with it. I've also speculated that maybe the computer thinks it's a NEW auction and gives it a better placement. But anyway, it seems to work! So you might want to tell your readers to try revising their auctions a little and see what happens.

Gotta tell you! A friend and I went garage saling a few weeks ago and I think I'm going to have great luck with what I found. We were at one that a lady and her son were running, and while we were looking at things (priced too high, mostly), the son speaks up and says we're having a $5.00 box sale. Everything you can put in a box for $5.00.

Well guess what! I put four teen magazines from the 70's with David Cassidy on the cover in the box, and they just sold for almost $20.00. They were just the first things I listed.

Also in the box went a Barbie as Marilyn Monroe doll with CofA, two pyrex casserole dishes (vintage), several shot glasses, a tequila flask with shot glasses from Mexico (these are unique with little Mexican guys on them), three pewter Avon boys, a small pewter angel sitting on a red heart, a ceramic Oreo cookie glass, etc. Have been a little slow taking pictures and getting these listed, but I'm already ahead of the game! Love these kind of bargains!

Today I picked up a full box of military service oriented mugs for $5.00, will either sell these on eBay or give them to the local American Legion for a fundraiser. But along with the mugs I got 2 unusual books. 3 new CD's and an Australian hat, that looks almost new. Can't wait to see what I get for these!

I do have to go now and get some of these things listed, they'll never sell in my garage!

Keep those newsletters coming.

HavamomAudrey

~~~

Curb Alert Leads to Serious Walking Around Money

Here's a flip story for you. My neighbors across the street moved out several months ago and recently I noticed that there was a "for rent" sign in the yard and a bunch stuff piled on the curb for garbage pickup. Apparently the landlord had decided to clean out what they had left behind.

I decided to take a good look at what was there so I could post a "curb alert" on the local Freecycle group that I moderate and try to keep this stuff out of the landfill.

As I was going through the boxes of dishes and clothes I found these 3 wooden figurines marked "ANRI." I'd never heard of that brand before but I decided to take them home and look them up on eBay to see if they'd be worth listing.

Well, long story short, I made over $100 on items that I found in the garbage! Not a huge flip like most of the stories I read in your newsletter, but you can't beat the price I paid!

The aforementioned Susan, who writes a very inspiring fitness blog at www.susansjourneytokeepfit.blogspot.com, shares two of her recent scores with us. (The first one she sent me back when it was still the thick of summer so you may want to save those bathing suits for next May. Weight Watchers booklets, of course, you can sell year-round!).

Hi Julia,

This just sold yesterday. I bought it at my new favorite thrift store for $1.00 and sold it for $15.00 -- how cool is that? It's the time of year again where summer items are really in demand and this just caught my eye being so bold and all. Swim suits should be new though who wants to buy a used one yuck...

My dishes didn't sell at auction so I have re-listed them as a bin along with my Starbucks cup so we will see. I hope you and your family are well your still in my prayers daily and I am here for you and you can check out my blog to see my latest antics. www.susansjourneytokeepfit.blogspot.com.

I am back to my "ebaying" working on it most days for 4 hours never let anyone tell you its not a job.. LOL.

Take care,Susan

~~

She wrote me again later and added this other flip:

Hi Julia,

This flip didn't make a fortune but it was a good score non the less. I was at my favorite church thrift shop looking at the books feeling discouraged when I saw this bubble wrap mailer on top of the books so I looked inside and immediately I felt excited:) There were 9 or 10 Weight Watchers Momentum 2009 booklets, calculator, and a dining out guide. I paid a dollar for the stuff it recently sold at auction for 15.51. The eBay Item number: 220605552412 for you to check it out if you like. This was very cool -- not a lot of work for 15.51 thought I would pass it on. If you need a pic. just ask.

Thanks, Susan

~~~

Flips Contest Winners! OK everyone, it's time to pick the winners and almost-winners!

All the flips were great, but we're gonna have to give the main prize to Amy for her $2600 perfume bottle! But everyone wins..Carolyn, Audrey, Susan, and Sally get a free ebook of their choice OR if they already have all my ebooks (lol) they can request an eBay collectible or eBay-related paperback from my collection. (My eBay Live stash is dwindling but I still have some trinkets).

I'm also expending that offer to Imogene (see all her great amazon tips in the Reader Mail section) because she's been so generous with sharing her experiences.

Amy, please email me your physical mailing address to juliawilk@aol.com when you get a chance.

Everyone, please email me which ebook you'd like or what else is on your "eBay trinket" wish list.

Next month's prizes are going to include discounts on some great new services and free new products, so send those flips in!

Just email your story of something you recently sold for a nice profit to juliawilk@aol.com.

**************************************What Sells on eBay for What**************************************Take a year of research and collecting data from every eBay category, and you get the latest version of "What Sells on eBay for What," the first and bestselling ebook of eBay prices.

Julia Recommends: EasyAuctionsTrackerI tried the EasyAuctionsTracker accounting spreadsheet for eBay and loved it. It is an eBay seller's accounting dream! With a few clicks you can be looking at all your eBay sales data, costs and even keep track of your commissions. EasyAuctionsTracker uses an eBay token and imports all of your eBay transaction information into an Excel spreadsheet. www.EasyAuctionsTracker.com. ********************* Reader Mail*********************

Imogene is a reader in Maryland who I got to chatting with in email. We discussed our experiences with FBA, area thrift stores, and other choice topics. I thought you all would like reading about how she's been successful with FBA:

Imogene's Experience with FBA

Hi Julia,

I went to a great estate sale last Sunday and they had over 2000 CDs, CD collections, DVDs and DVD collections. It was the best sale. I think I stayed there 4-5 hours. I bought probably 200 CDs, DVDs, and books.

A lot of them have already sold and I still have more CDs to list. The lady also had a lot of Salvatore Feragamo shoes. Only the really worn ones were left when I finally made it upstairs.

I usually go to the sale on the last day when everything is 50% off. There was such nice stuff there I wish I had gone on Sat too. It seems people cleaned out the food pantry. One lady left with a box of Progresso soups which had not expired ($0.50 a can) I did get an unopened box of brown rice.

In your last email you asked about the thrift stores I go to. I basically go to 4 thrift stores, and 2 of them regularly. I use to go several times a week but because of the amount of stuff I have I only go once a week. I try to only buy Amazon stuff because I have too much stuff to list on eBay and you know it is so easy to list on Amazon.

I used to go to the Library sales for books, I would go to Woodbridge, Fairfax, Alexandria, (not sure if I told you I lived in VA for over 25 years) but not anymore because the sales are too busy for me. Everyone and their mother is there trying to scan books.

I really mean that because one of the last ones I went to there was this mother and son team, they had already worked as volunteers the night before. People are running around at those sales like crazy. When I first started selling those sales were great. I still go to a church book sale in Crofton MD once a year but even that sale is crazy now.

I think I told you I love FBA. I just sent 4 boxes last week (177 items). It does take a lot of work to complete a box, for instance I worked on a box all day yesterday and the items are labeled and in two boxes.

Your stuff sells quicker with FBA, you probably already know that. I try not to send heavy items. I did the very first time I tried FBA last year, but I had no idea what I was doing. I sent the boxes USPS. There is probably a way so it does not take me so long to ship a box. Yesterday I labeled 90 items, and most of them were CDs but I had to lay them out and then find the correct label.

Take care, TTYL

Jean

P.S. Here is an example sale from the estate DVDs that I purchase, I think I paid $2 or $4 for this one.

Between eBay and amazon, you're looking at over 100 million visitors per month. Why not harness the power of both?

At $29.97, I think it's a good value. And you also get:

- "25 Things eBay Sellers Must Know about Selling on Amazon" and - SPECIAL BONUS - "How to Scout for Top Sellers with Your Cell Phone."

******************************

****************************** The eBay Seller's Guide to Finding Profitable Hidden Bargains at Garage SalesFind out here.*******************Would you like your own fully customisable ebook website pulling in profits day after day, month after month, year after year, complete with video tutorials showing you EXACTLY how to get set up and running? Find out here.*******************

Questions about My eBooks Ordering

You can certainly purchase from me directly, as can anyone. Most of my ebooks are now available via the website's bookstore at www.yardsalers.net/bookstore. Any others you have questions about, all you have to do is email me and let me know which ebook(s) you want, if you are a subscriber and thus eligible for the discount, and then PayPal me to my PayPal id at juliawilk@aol.com. I'll be tweaking and updating the ebooks page on my web site soon.

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Do you have a Flip of the Week? I'd love to hear about it! Email me at juliawilk@aol.com and let me know. ----------------------------------------------- Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay:orBuy Now*********************

I am always open to reader articles, so if you want to write about something relating to yard sale-ing and eBaying, just flag me down! I will of course give you credit, using your eBay ID, web site, or any other contact info.

------------------------------------

eBooks by Julia L. Wilkinson:[All my ebooks are offered at 1/2 price from their regular prices to the subscribers of this newsletter. If interested in any of them, please email me at juliawilk@aol.com.]

- How to Spot Fakes: email me! *********************

Blogs, Blogs, and More BlogsCheck out My amazon.com Author Blog

Those of you who just can't get enough of my writing (are there any of you?) will be happy to know I now have a new blog on amazon.com. Amazon.com has created an "author blog" tool for authors to...well, blog. You'll see it if you bring up either of my books on the amazon site, but for good measure, it's at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593270550. (Scroll down to "amazonConnect").

Thank you for subscribing to Yard Salers. Yard Salers email newsletter may be freely distributed in its entirety, so please pass it on. You may reprint any of the articles in this newsletter for any purpose as long as no portion of the article is modified without permission, and this tagline is included:Yard Salers, www.yardsalers.netPublisher, Julia Wilkinson, author of the award-winning "eBay Price Guide." and "What Sells on eBay for What"

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Yard Salers makes diligent efforts to obtain accurate and timely information. However, Yard Salers disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in Yard Salers, whether or not such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

April 13, 2010

I use Stamps.com a lot for my eBay and online selling business. I think a lot of people don't realize this great service is out there, and I see people in line at the post office doing simple things like mailing a domestic package and buying postage for it. I always put my domestic packages outside my door with postage already on them. (I do go to the post office for international mailings).

I just got this press release from Stamps.com that their batch shipping for eBay Stores sellers will continue to be free. Check out the details:

LOS ANGELES – April 13, 2010
– Stamps.com® (Nasdaq:STMP), the leading provider ofpostage online
and shipping software solutions
to approximately 400,000 customers, today announced that it will continue to
enable unlimited batch shipping from
eBay Stores without any service fees to new customers who sign up before October
1, 2010. Batch shipping with Stamps.com allows eBay sellers to print up to
1,000 labels at a time, and via all classes of USPS mail—including First Class Mail
International®.

“Stamps.com
enables thousands of eBay sellers to ship their orders quickly, reliably and
affordably,” said Stamps.com president and CEO Ken McBride. “The response to
our original eBay promotion was very positive, and we are pleased to provide
even more eBay sellers the chance to benefit from our world-class batch
shipping solution.”

Stamps.com
allows eBay Store users to retrieve order data from multiple sources—including
eBay, XML files and ODBC data sources—and automatically post order status
details such as tracking numbers and cost data back to their eBay Store.
Integration with the Stamps.com USB scale further decreases the need for manual
data entry by automatically importing package weight and calculating the
correct postage. Users also receive discounts on Priority® and Express Mail®,
cost codes to keep track of expenses, and Hidden Postage™ which prints shipping
labels without displaying the postage cost.

Stamps.com’s
goal in offering a free eBay batch shipping solution is to introduce eBay users
to Stamps.com's product and encourage them to explore all of the additional
features which are available for a small additional monthly fee.For instance, Stamps.com offers integrations
with additional eCommerce platforms such as Yahoo!® Merchant, and Google
Checkout.These additional integrations
allow webstore managers to process, manage, and ship orders from virtually any
e-commerce source. Other features available to standard customers include the
ability to print postage directly on envelopes or on NetStamps® for convenient
mailing solutions.

Stamps.com
(Nasdaq: STMP) is a leading provider of Internet-based postage services.
Stamps.com’sservice enables small businesses, enterprises, advanced
shippers, and consumers to print U.S. Postal Service-approved postage with just
a PC, printer and Internet connection, right from their home or office. The Company currently has PC Postage
partnerships with Avery Dennison, Microsoft, HP, the U.S. Postal Service,
Interapptive, TrueShip, Auctane, Atandra, Webgility and others.

April 12, 2010

How about learning from the guy who has over 120,000 people on his own list? (That's right; over 120,000 people). The man is named Jim Cockrum. nd he's sold over 80,000 ebooks -- prompting some, including myself, to call him the "ebook King."

Get in on the ground floor of this product before the price goes up. I've been following Jim for years -- he calls it like he sees it and won't recommend anything he doesn't believe in. Neither will I.

It has been an interesting holiday season, to say the least. I'm going to start out with some personal stuff in this editorial, so if you want to skip to the main article, feel free.

December was cooking for me with lots of sales, and I recently made silver powerseller. (Sorry; there will be no more "powerseller" designation soon, so I should say "top-rated seller," I guess). But some crises wait for no man, or woman, and a crisis was brewing out in California.

My mom had moved out to California in 1990 to live with her sister, my aunt. My aunt has had cancer for the last several years and took a turn for the worse in December. She passed away the day after Christmas.

This meant two trips to California, to see my aunt for the last time, and another to move my mom back east to be closer to me and my siblings. My mom has her own health issues...she has had Parkinson's disease for several years now and also dementia which has gotten worse in the last two years or so.

Suffice to say there was a lot going on!

For me, the challenge was all the greater because as you know, eBay waits for no man. I left a couple auctions running on my first trip to California because I felt I had enough time to get anything that sold shipped out on my return. But while I was out there I got some messages from a disgruntled buyer who was unhappy with a mixed silver lot he had bought.

I wound up just letting him keep the lot because I could sense that was the only thing that would make him happy, and the amount of the sale was not so much; I could afford to chalk it up as a loss. Of course, we cannot always do this with items; often if the buyer is not satisfied with a partial refund we will need to ask them to send the item back. But in that situation with my time constraints, I really think it was the best way out.

And there was a lot to do while I was there. Have you ever had to pack up a life -- or the parts of a life you have time to pack and ship -- in two days?

That's how it felt to get my mom out of her house in California and back in my house in Virginia. I could only fill two suitcases of hers to take on the plane. And as it was we almost didn't get her on the plane, because although she has a social security and Medicare card, her California driver's license expired a few years ago, and the TSA folks at the airport detained us for a while.

Fortunately I had some recent pieces of her mail with me, and that satisfied them. (To be honest, I didn't mind their added scrutiny, as it shows they are being very careful, as they should be).

I ended up shipping some eight to ten office boxes filled with her papers, files, scrapbooks, and other important documents back east. (The UPS guy wasn't too happy with me the day they were delivered).

Around the same time all this was happening, we had record snowfall in the DC area -- one came as I was leaving on my first trip, the second shortly after we got back east. "Mom, we had a record snowfall here in DC," I told my mom that morning.

"And we had to be here for it," she replied. She hasn't lost her sense of humor.

We have my mom settled back east now. I have been thinking of many of you readers who are in similar situations -- some of you caring for elderly or sick parents, trying to get teenage children ready for college (or through college), or both! My heart goes out to you all. I feel I have gotten to know many of you all and think of you as friends.

In other news, as you no doubt heard, eBay has made some big changes lately, to its Store format and fees. I'll be giving you my take on it in the feature article in this issues. Then we'll get right to the next Flips contest, and save Reader Mail for the next issue so I can finally get this thing out the door!

Thanks for reading!

Now let's get to it.

****** Follow me on Twitter:juliawww on Twitter**********************************************Zero to $2000 a month on Amazon.com. Possible?

Steve Lindhorst has done it..his PayPal account is the proof. His new "Quick and Dirty Guide" tells you how you can get similar results:

http://juliawilk.lindhorst.hop.clickbank.net/?x=3 "Over the past few years, I've found many things that work, and many things that do not. I have finally found a "recipe" that consistently works for me, as you can see from the screenshot. The "recipe" doesn't just apply to books though, it applies to most anything you sell on Amazon. Even so, books and other media products seem to be the favorites - they certainly are for me." **********************************************Tax Loopholes for eBay Sellers and other great resources at: taxloopholes.com**********************************************What Sells on eBay for What: Half Price for Subscribers -- is Out! Click here.**********************************************How to Make Money Blogging from HomeSkip McGrath earns about $2000-$7000 per month from his blogs and he only posts 2-3 times a week. His latest ebook tells how. Only $17.00! Skip's latest: click here.**********************************************

**********************************************Articles in this Issue:**********************************************1) eBay's Latest Changes: Stores and More2) Jan/Feb Flips Contest3) Reader Mail: Catching Up***********************************************Big Bucks Flips 2.0: The half price version of Big Bucks Flips for Yard Salers subscribers is here: Click here to order.Yard Salers' Readers best flips, and accompanying tips and rules of thumb, all in one convenient package. Plus, now you can make money reselling the book! To find out how to resell it for 50% of each sale, go here.************************************1) eBay's Latest Changes: Stores and More************************************

The only thing constant is change. At least, that's sure how it is with eBay.

With this latest round of changes, eBay is essentially getting rid of the Store inventory format. There will only be one fixed-price format now on eBay. The good news is this means all those fixed-price listings will have the regular exposure in eBay search and won't be "buried" anymore.

The bad news it is becoming more expensive to list those items in terms of insertion fees, with the $15.95 Store format...from as low as $.03 to $.20 now.

Right now, with my understanding of how fees are changing, I see the biggest downside as that you can no longer let something sit there until it finds the right buyer for such a low cost. As an example, a 1954 college yearbook (I sell yearbooks regularly) may take months and months (sometimes years) to sell, but with a Store monthly subscription covering my many Store items, it was only between 3 and 10 cents every 30 days.

This low prices enabled me and other sellers to let very specialized inventory sit and sit until the interested party came along.

Now, that same yearbook will cost me 20 cents if I have a Basic Store level subscription as I do now. Presumably the 30-day listing duration will still be an option there for the new global fixed-price listing; otherwise we are talking about an even more expensive proposition.

To offset this, I could list a lot more items than I do now and go with the new Premium Store format, for $49.95 a month, which would bring my insertion fees down to $.05 per item. eBay says this is a good choice for "higher volume sellers" (more than 250 items per month).

Will the additional exposure in search for these items offset the fees? Time will tell.

Also, final value fees are going up, depending on what level of Store subscription you have. (One thing you cannot say about the new fee structure is it is easy to understand; there are a lot of moving parts).

I do think the increased visibility in search should help sales. However, in the old format, Store items would still show up in search if there were less than 30 auction-style or fixed-price items returned in the search results. This means that often, for very specialized items, buyers would see Store results in the search results anyway, because there just weren't that many of them overall on eBay.

In thinking about this more, I wonder if eBay would do better to find some pay-at-sale only format that enabled specialized items to sit there at a very low cost-risk to sellers so a wider variety of inventory could be there for buyers to choose from. I think I would be willing to pay a larger percentage of my sales price if I didn't have to pay anything up front, or had to pay very little, to keep the item sitting on the virtual shelf. [eBay does offer a "No Insertion Fees for Auction-style listings when you list your item with a start price under $1" option, however, that low start price puts a lot of risk on the seller.]

Let's see how all these changes shake out. As always, as long as sellers keep listing enough and buyers keep buying, eBay will remain a viable marketplace. But, I hope these changes don't erode eBay's status as the place to buy the unique, the special, and the hard-to-find.

**************************************Garage sale and wholesaler expert Pat Bateman has put together a fabulous ebook about making regular income with yard sales, finding wholesale goods to sell, using drop shippers, and more. Right now I'm offering it at a special preview price for $8.95. PayPal me at juliawilk@aol.com and you will receive the ebook via email, usually within hours.

*************************************** Succeed as an eBay Affiliate: Click Here!Build A Niche Store (BANS) is a store / website development platform which enables you to create content-based sites that generate income through the eBay affiliate programs. **************************************2) Jan./Feb. Flips Contest: **************************************

We have more super fun flips in this issue.

Note: if you ever send me a flip but don't see it in the subsequent issue that comes out after you emailed it to me, feel free to email me at juliawilk@aol.com to check on it. I try to get to all the flip stories I receive between newsletters by the next issue, but every once in a while one falls through the cracks and I have to run it in a later issue. I've gotten to every flip I've received this far, however.

Prizes for next month's Contest::

- Home Run: The 4th 100 Best Things I've Sold on eBay by Lynn Dralle - Antiques Roadshow Primer by Carol Prisant - eBay PowerUsers Bible by Greg Holden - A free copy of the ebook "What Sells on eBay for What"

On to the flips.

~~~

From a loyal, longtime Yard Salers reader who's won the contest before (that's right, we have repeat winners here at Yard Salers) comes this tale of a "small" niche...literally!

Barbie...Shoes?

Hi Julia,

Wow, got your newsletter and as always it was full of tips! And I love the flips! I keep looking but haven't found a really good one in a while.

Was pleasantly surprised to see my email about Priority International shipping included. Thought I'd let you know something else I found out this summer. I had a large amount of Barbie doll shoes that I had collected from some of the garage sales we've done and thought they might sell as a group.

BUT when I got to doing the research on them, I was almost dumbfounded when I found pairs of shoes were selling for up to $15.00 and then even more surprised when I saw SINGLE shoes selling for $3, $4 and even more.

To make a long story short, I listed the pairs and then the singles and have sold almost all of them.

The least they went for was $.99 but most went for quite a bit more. One buyer bought 4 pairs for $3.99 a pair. Not a HUGE flip, but a very surprising one. It seems to make a difference where they are manufactured, i.e., Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, etc, but that probably ties into where the dolls were manufactured. Individual clothes for Barbie sell pretty well, too, IF they have the 'genuine Barbie label' and the black and white ones are the older, more original ones. Just sold a gold evening dress, black and white label, for $5.00 -- it was in a bunch of other clothes I had collected. And if they don't have labels, I sell them as a group and don't have any problem getting rid of them.

[Note from Julia: Below is an image of a recent high-priced Barbie shoe lot on eBay:]

I'll probably never make the 'Top Rated Seller' emblem with eBay, but I am having fun, making a bit and 'recycling' lots of items.

Keep on coming with the newsletter, I do enjoy it!

HavamomAudrey

~~

Hey there Havamom (aka Audrey - lol)!

Wow...Barbie shoes?? That's too fun. I guess I'm not too surprised..I have seen other doll clothes do pretty well..and I just sold a Penny Brite doll for which the clothes seemed to be most of the draw. Interesting about how where they were made is so important. And about the single shoes selling..lol!

Thx so much for sharing that. :) Stay healthy!

Julia

~~~

Roald Dahl and Western "Mountain Man" Books

And more from Audrey:

Hi Julia,

Just did another pretty good flip, these make up for all the items that 'flop'!

Bought a bunch of books and the ones I thought would sell well, are still sitting here - John Wayne, Elvis Presley - and the one I just took a chance on, sold for $70.00. Go figure!!

It was a 1970 copy of 'Mr Fantastic Fox' by Roald Dahl, picked it up for $.50, and was very pleasantly surprised and pleased to watch it go up daily to the final figure.

Think it helped that the movie is coming out soon. Pays to watch TV a little! The two others may sell in time, but I sure do like the ones that come and go quickly!

The other pretty good flip I had recently was a lot of William Johnstone, Mountain Man series books. There were 10 of them, paid $.50 apiece, but they sold for $37. Western books seem to sell a lot better than any others for me.

Business has been okay, better than a while back, but still looking for a really BIG score! Although I'm somewhat afraid to spend a lot, thinking I might really get burned on something.

Keep up the fun newsletters! I find a lot of the information useful and interesting. Loved the story about the bear in sad condition that sold for so much. Had a gentleman in North Dakota who also had a great newsletter with a LOT of information about what sold, etc. Unfortunately he passed away suddenly and the rest of the family had no interest in carrying on with the selling, newsletter, etc. That was where I heard about the Johnstone books, and this was the first group I had seen since reading about them.

HavamomAudrey

~~

Hi Audrey,

More great flips! Roald Dahl is a good children's author to look for at sales, esp. at estate sales where you might snag a first edition. Children's book classics are in general a good "sleeper" item at sales because I think a lot of book dealers pass them over for the grown-up books.

I have scored a few valuable Dr. Suesses in this way. On eBay right now, some of the highest-priced recent sales of Roald Dahl books include a 1st edition of "James and the Giant Peach" for $132.50, and a first "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for $102.50 (yep, he wrote that one too).

Another one by him which was also made into a movie? Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

By the way, what do you know about Roald Dahl? Did you know he was in the RAF in World War II? Check out his life story on wikipedia sometime if you want to read a really interesting biography.

A brief excerpt:

Roald Dahl, 13 September 1916 - 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.

Born in north Cardiff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.

His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour. Some of his better-known works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG.

~~~

Threads Magazine

Hi Julia,

I primarily sell new merchandise so rarely have a great story to share. Also, I live in an isolated small town in Wyoming were there are few garage sales. I do try to get to a few every year, and was especially successful at at sale just down the street from me.

At this particular sale, nestled among the usual clothes, electronics and other stuff was a pile of "Threads" magazines. They were marked $1 and there were about 20 different issues. I knew these sell well on eBay because I had purchased some about a year earlier to fill in my collection when some of my copies were damaged in a move. I snatched up the magazines, went home, and started listing. A week later my $1 investment in the magazines had reaped over $200.00! Not bad for a two minute walk down the street!

Sorry for the delay..great to hear from you! Esp. from someone in Wyoming. My family and I went to Jackson Hole a while back and saw the town of Jackson..love Wyoming!

Threads magazine..now there's one I haven't heard of! Wow! You're right..I see some big lots on eBay are going for over $200!

I checked out your blog..very colorful! Love the "10 Ways to Let Go of Your Stuff." LOL. I'd like to include your blog url and other info in w/ your letter if that's OK w/ you.

Thx so much for sharing, and you're entered into the next contest. :)

(I'll probably grab a photo from eBay, unless u have a photo you want to share).

Thx!

~~~

Remember Mark, from a previous issue, who was looking for info on a "mystery bronze ewer"? He's back again, with a great flip, and also talks about his latest technique for getting info on the ewer:

Howard Miller Urban Mantel Clock

Julia,

I'm finding more and more valuable treasures at the local Goodwill thrift stores in Virginia, I e-mailed you previously about my metal Viking ship (from consignment store and not Goodwill). I recently found a large decorated Sterling silver antique platter in Goodwill for $3.99, sold on eBay for near $174.00.

A couple days ago I went to another Goodwill on my lunch hour, found an almost new Howard Miller Urban Mantel Clock for $6.99 -- these are shown on Amazon.com at $276.50 and most other clock websites charge $290-320.00. It works perfectly and is in near mint condition, hate to part with it. Also found an older Kit-Cat clock (looks like Felix the Cat with a white bow tie) for $3.99 and it brought over $60.00 on eBay.

[Note from Julia: below are two recent high-priced Miller clock sales on eBay:]

I posted a youtube video of my mystery bronze bird pitcher, so far only about 14 views, I invited people to leave a comment if they recognize this "weird bird" but so far no one has "chirped in" with a comment.

Mark

~~~

Hey Mark!

I don't know a lot about clocks, but one guy who I would see regularly on the estate sale circuit buys nothing but clocks, so it must be a good niche.

A Youtube video..what a great idea! Have you thought about creating a Twitter account? Or you could do a search on Twitter for people interested in antiques.

Keep me posted. eBay was a bit slow for me in the Fall, too, but w/ the holiday season things have been picking up..fingers crossed. ;)

Have anything w/ silver or gold, even if parts? That's doing well for me now.

Thx again and let me know how it goes!

Julia

~~~

Microscope Parts

Hey, I just found your newsletter and I am already a fan. I have a flip I would like to share. Actually I have 2 but only have pictures for one. The best flip I ever had was a box of microscope parts that I bought from a yard sale for $8.

I didn't know what each part was called, so when I listed them on ebay, I just put "microscope part / attachment" and then put the brand name. Turns out they were from a surgical microscope and when the last part sold, I ended up with just over $1300. One part alone out of that $8 box sold for over $800.

Alright the second one Suzanne Wells has actually posted in her blog. I found a helicopter pilot's helmet at Goodwill for $4. It was in pretty rough shape but I figured I would try it anyway. It sold for $175. Here is the link to the post.: http://ebaysellingcoach.blogspot.com/search?q=helmet

Thanks again for the great newsletter, blogs and books.Jasper (ebay id: jpdiscountsolutions)

~~

Hey, Jasper!

Thanks so much! Wow, another one of those "who knew?" niches..microscope parts!

I imagine the good, professional-quality ones are highly coveted, given that the el cheapo ones I've bought at yard sales or even at the store are so flimsy and hard to use. How fun to find one like that.

Love the pilot hat flip, too.

Keep selling, and flipping, :)

Julia

~~~~

Leather Belt and Fishing Rods

Julia:

I'm the person who wrote The Furniture Buying Guide that you helped me with last year and I still appreciate it. Unfortunately, the furniture business is not doing well at this time.

Anyhow, I thought I would write about two flips I've had. The first one is a ladies leather belt I bought at Goodwill. It was 50% off that day so I paid $1 for it. It had silver medallions on it-each about l" by 2". They were carved and very ornate. There were 5 of them on the belt and each was marked sterling silver. The buckle was larger and even more ornately carved. It was also marked sterling silver and had the artist's initials carved in it.

I was a dealer at that time and put it in my case and sold it the first week for $95. I now believe I could have gotten more for it but I was happy to turn it around so quickly.

The second flip was a lot of fishing rods bought at an auction for $5.00. In examining them I found names on two of them but did not recognize them. I listed each one individually on Ebay and sold the one that I thought was prettier or fancier (I obviously didn't know anything about them) for $42.

The one that didn't look as nice had 28 bidders and sold for $294. Afterwards the buyer told me there was a second name on it that I hadn't seen and if that had been included in the description I would have gotten even more. Obviously, I am very happy with what it did sell for.

Hope you find this interesting. I enjoy every newsletter you send.

Rosemary

~~

Hi there Rosemary!

Yes, I remember you and your guide! I am so sorry for the pathetically late reply. Had a difficult holiday season which included visiting my very sick aunt in Ca., who subsequently passed away day after Xmas, and my mom whose dementia has worsened quite a bit. Anyway, still getting caught up.

Those are really fun flips! I esp. love the belt flip...I don't know if u remember but a while back I wrote about some belts I got from one estate sale..several Judith Leiber, which have a big following. To find one w/ carved silver..truly wonderful! And with artist's initials..super. Do u happen to have a pic? If not it's OK..I may use a pic of high-priced belts in general.

The fishing rod is also a niche I have not thought of. Wow. Do u happen to remember the name on it..was it a brand name, the designer's name. etc.?

Anyhow thx again for writing..I agree the furniture biz is not doing well (along w a lot of other bizzes now!) but hopefully will come back around.

Thx again for the great flips, and wishing you a very successful 2010!

Julia

~~~

Pen and Boy's Blazer

Hi again Julia!

Just a couple more flips from recent times.

My husband picked up a Rotring brand ballpoint pen years ago from a free box and held onto it cause he knew it was a good brand. He hardly used it himself, just kept in in a desk drawer. We are job searching now and so listing everything not nailed down to pay some bills. We listed the pen, hoping to get at least $10. It sold for $90!!!

Here's the link..I hope you can see the pictures. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270479517829&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT

Also, I picked up a Talbot's Kids navy blue blazer for $2 and sold it for $46! Here's that link:

Lastly, I have some questions concerning selling designer bags. I know Ebay is really strict about not selling fakes...I made the mistake with a Ferragamo bag that I couldn't confirm was authentic.

Do you have any tips about this? I have a small Coach bag..not super expensive, but considering where I got it...I'm pretty sure it's authentic. I'm selling it for someone who got it from someone else. We have no documentation..etc..Is there an easy way to authenticate Coach bags? (ex..sending pics to a site, or something) My friend and I could use the money...so I'd love to list it. Or are there ways or wording to use on Ebay to keep from being flagged? Ex..offering a return, etc?

Shannon

~~

Hi again Shannon! How goes? Great to hear from u again.

Wow..super flip! I can see the pictures..thanks! I have never heard of that brand pen. I probably would have passed it up at an estate sale..lol! No more. It's also a good idea to look in the drawers sometimes at estate sales because some people don't..often the estate dealer is happy to sell you any of the contents. (Of course, not if the drawer is taped shut or there's a note to the contrary..lol).

More below, with answers to your q's:

Gorgeous boy's blazer! That's interesting that a Talbot's Kids item did so well..maybe their kids' clothes are the way to go, because in my experience their women's clothes don't do that well, even though they are a nice and well-made brand.

I hear ya re: fakes! You are right, we all have to be super careful out there and even savvy sellers can get taken.

Here are the things I do:

- research online for any authenticity guides and photos..many brands have free guides online.- in some cases, I buy a book or ebook as a guide..there is a Chanel expert on eBay who sells an excellent Chanel authenticity guide with many photos which has been a godsend to me.- finally, go to the Clothing discussion board and post photos there. Almost any brand has its fans and experts and the people are super nice and willing to help out.

I hope that helps! It has definitely become "seller beware" these days, but in my experience selling designer items is worth the extra research!

Happy selling, and flipping!

Julia

~~

Hi Julia, I've had a couple good flips recently.

A Rosenthal French bulldog puppy I purchased on ebay for $115, sold for $413 - ebay # 290369717447. It had slight damage to 1 foot. The person I bought it from mentioned the damage, but didn't show it clearly in the photos.

Because it's such a valuable dog, often selling in the $600-800 range, I decided to risk it. I included good photos of the damage in the listing- I've found in the past if you clearly describe & show any damage, people are less afraid of it. Anyway, it worked & sold for a nice profit!

I also sold a Royal Copenhagen pekingese dog I purchased for $218 at an antique store, sold it for $705- ebay # 300366675392.

That was a very good week!

Susie (luvthosedogs)

~~

Hey Susie!

Great to hear from you again!

Wow..I see you are a dog specialist..that is so cool! What a gorgeous dog. I love how you bought it on eBay and then resold it on eBay too! And showing photos of the damage is a great idea. I have learned that too..people mainly do not like surprises!

This is also a good example of how knowledge of your specialty area plays into such a great flip. I do think it pays to specialize.

Love the other dog, and how you found him in an antique shop. Sometimes we don't need yard sales at all! ;)

I am curious how you got interested in dogs and dog figurines. Also, do you have many foreign buyers? I am finding I get more and more sales from overseas.

Thanks so much for the flip!

Julia

~~

Susie writes back:

I've been collecting dog figures since I was a kid & have a pretty large collection. I've always loved dogs & they seem to have invaded all areas of my life! My real job is I own a pet grooming salon & have been grooming dogs (& cats!) for about 27 years. So, yeah, I am a bit of a dog specialist. It does help in finding flip opportunities. Often people don't know the breeds, or proper way to advertise their figures to find those most likely to be interested in them.

I have sold quite a few dogs to foreign buyers-all over the world. Pretty interesting really who all you sell to. Japan seems to be particularly good for dogs, especially Boston terriers & Bonzos. I think our weak dollar lately has been good for foreign sales. I have started requiring shipment by international priority mail so I can get insurance. That puts the cost pretty high, so I'm sure that hurts.

Thanks for your interesting newsletter! Susie

~~~

OK everyone, it's time to pick the winners and almost-winners! It was very, very close as usual. But this month's grand prize goes to Jasper for his super-lucrative and super-niche microscope parts!

He wins free copies of "eBay Hacks," a "DK Collectibles Price Guide," and "Bitter, Party of One..Your Table is Ready" by Larry Star, aka the eBay Wedding Dress Guy.

Rosemary and Susie get honorable mentions and free copies of whatever of my ebooks they choose, plus they get a free blog entry on my bidbits.net blog about the eBay auction of their choice.

And Audrey, Charlene, Mark and Shannon win free copies of "Big Bucks Flips" and "What Sells on eBay for What" or whichever other ebook of mine they want.

Next month's prizes are going to include some of my last eBay Live collectibles and some newly released eBay-related books.

So seize the day and send in those next flips!

Just email your story of something you recently sold for a nice profit to juliawilk@aol.com.

**************************************What Sells on eBay for What**************************************After almost a year of research, collecting data from every eBay category, the latest version of "What Sells on eBay for What," the first and bestselling ebook of eBay prices, is here!

Julia Recommends: EasyAuctionsTrackerI tried the EasyAuctionsTracker accounting spreadsheet for eBay and loved it. It is an eBay seller's accounting dream! With a few clicks you can be looking at all your eBay sales data, costs and even keep track of your commissions. EasyAuctionsTracker uses an eBay token and imports all of your eBay transaction information into an Excel spreadsheet. There's a free trial that will retrieve June transactions. This can be used through August 31st, which will be the last day to get transactions back to June 1st. www.EasyAuctionsTracker.com. ********************* 3) Reader Mail*********************

Some Catchup Reader Mail

Goofy Auctions

Hey! I cam across your blog and it intrigued me enough to email you and see if you might be willing to give my silly eBay site a mention or two on your blog... It's called www.GoofyAuctions.com and has been around since November of 2005. What is GoofyAuctions.com all about? Well think of all those silly and bizarre items you see Jay Leno talking about every Tuesday! From the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich to Britney Spears' Used Belly Button Lint... They have all been featured on my site...The site is 100% free and has been updated every day since its inception with 4 goofy, bizarre and downright hilarious but REAL eBay auctions! The site was even mentioned on ESPN in 2006 when we sold a Cheeto for charity that looked like a sports talk host named Woody Paige! The Cheeto sold for over $1,000 with 100% of the money benefiting kids with diabetes. The site was also mentioned on the Jay Leno show in August of 2007 as a source of where Jay Leno (or crew) found some of the auctions he mentions on the show! Anyways, I saw your blog and decided to write you and see if we could do something fun and be creative in a blog for your site! If you have a moment to look over things and just see the creative put into this really stupid BUT fun and enjoyable site we may just have something to work with! Once again thanks so much for your time!

-Dave the Goofy Professor from GoofyAuctions.com

As I said, I don't worry about it, can't do an awful lot more than what I am - Anonymous

Hey Dave,

Is that you dancing on the site in the t-shirt? LOL. The site looks to be a hoot. I had a whole saga about hunting down the Virgin Mary Grilled cheese at eBay live vegas, but it was on and old blog.

Sure I can give u a shout out. Do you also have a place on your site for links where u can mention my bidbits blog, or a blog elsewhere?

thx, Julia

~~~

That's it for this month, all! See you next time!

Do you like this newsletter? Please forward it (in its entirety) to a friend! Just go to http://www.yardsalers.net and see the "Subscribe" box on top.

**Don't have five minutes to read the newsletter now? Print it out and read later.**[For more writing and photos throughout the month, check out Julia's bidbits blog at http://www.bidbits.net ]

Between eBay and amazon, you're looking at over 100 million visitors per month. Why not harness the power of both?

At $29.97, I think it's a good value. And you also get:

- "25 Things eBay Sellers Must Know about Selling on Amazon" and - SPECIAL BONUS - "How to Scout for Top Sellers with Your Cell Phone."

******************************

****************************** The eBay Seller's Guide to Finding Profitable Hidden Bargains at Garage SalesFind out here.*******************Would you like your own fully customisable ebook website pulling in profits day after day, month after month, year after year, complete with video tutorials showing you EXACTLY how to get set up and running? Find out here.*******************

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Questions about My eBooks Ordering

You can certainly purchase from me directly, as can anyone. Most of my ebooks are now available via the website's bookstore at www.yardsalers.net/bookstore. Any others you have questions about, all you have to do is email me and let me know which ebook(s) you want, if you are a subscriber and thus eligible for the discount, and then PayPal me to my PayPal id at juliawilk@aol.com. I'll be tweaking and updating the ebooks page on my web site soon.

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Do you have a Flip of the Week? I'd love to hear about it! Email me at juliawilk@aol.com and let me know. ----------------------------------------------- Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay:orBuy Now*********************

I am always open to reader articles, so if you want to write about something relating to yard sale-ing and eBaying, just flag me down! I will of course give you credit, using your eBay ID, web site, or any other contact info.

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eBooks by Julia L. Wilkinson:[All my ebooks are offered at 1/2 price from their regular prices to the subscribers of this newsletter. If interested in any of them, please email me at juliawilk@aol.com.]

- How to Spot Fakes: email me! *********************

Blogs, Blogs, and More BlogsCheck out My amazon.com Author Blog

Those of you who just can't get enough of my writing (are there any of you?) will be happy to know I now have a new blog on amazon.com. Amazon.com has created an "author blog" tool for authors to...well, blog. You'll see it if you bring up either of my books on the amazon site, but for good measure, it's at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593270550. (Scroll down to "amazonConnect").

Thank you for subscribing to Yard Salers. Yard Salers email newsletter may be freely distributed in its entirety, so please pass it on. You may reprint any of the articles in this newsletter for any purpose as long as no portion of the article is modified without permission, and this tagline is included:Yard Salers, www.yardsalers.netPublisher, Julia Wilkinson, author of the award-winning "eBay Price Guide." and "What Sells on eBay for What"

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Yard Salers makes diligent efforts to obtain accurate and timely information. However, Yard Salers disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in Yard Salers, whether or not such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

May 18, 2008

Oprah did a show on Friday about her favorite things for summer. One of her picks is something I'd like to try too..it's a nail polish you can apply like a pen..called Nic's Sticks by Opi.
People were gushing over this one. Gayle King said it retails for $7, but I found some auctions starting at $0.99 on eBay.